Chapter 161

Tyler made his way to Lexi's room and hoped she'd be in a better mood, but since his presence alone seemed to put her in a foul mood, he couldn't count on it.

Not that he could blame her. Everytime he thought about what he'd said to her in Olkfield, he cringed hard. What moron finally got the woman of his dreams and sent her away because he was angry and scared and didn't feel like he was worth it? Well, that moron was him.

It had taken him a few days after she left to realise what a terrible mistake he'd made. When he couldn’t stay in his own house anymore because literally every room and everything reminded him of her.

His fears had come to pass. Everything he'd been afraid of had happened, and the worst part of it was that he'd made it happen.

At least before they'd become lovers, he'd had their friendship, and that had felt like torture in a way, but at least he had her in his life. He'd had something to hold on to. And now that he had none of it, nothing felt right. Nothing made sense.

When Lily had called with her impromptu wedding invitation, his first thought had been to reject it. Having just lost the love of his life, a celebration of  love wasn't what he needed, but knowing that Lexi would be here was all the motivation he needed to show up. He'd have an excuse to see her in person, talk to her, earn her forgiveness and woo her back into his arms. He wanted his best friend back. He wanted to fight for what they had , but first he had to get her to stop being mad at him.

He thought about knocking when he arrived at her door, but decided against it and tried the door instead. His felt a bit angry when the door automatically opened beneath his fingers. This was the second time for gods sake. What woman didn’t lock her door?

Lexi stood in the middle of the room. She whirled in a rapid about-face as the door opened, her hand flying to her chest.

“Tyler?”

He entered her room and shut the door behind him. “You should lock your door when you are inside.”

“I usually do but I just—What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you. Lexi says you've been sick for a while, but looking at you now, you seem to have made a remarkable recovery.”

Lexi looked away, swallowing. “I—I am feeling better. You don't have to bother,”

“Don’t worry about me.” He watched her closely, trying to figure out her mood. “You look flushed. Are you sure nothing is wrong?”

“It’s the heat.”

Every muscle in his body tightened a little more. Silence filled the room and Lexi gave him a weak, nervous smile. Yeah, she was definitely hiding something.

“Lexi, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Her teeth sank into her lower lip, drawing his attention there. Memories swept over him and he stifled a groan. He remembered exactly how her mouth felt, tasted. The way her skin gleamed in the light and the husky way she’d breathed his name when she’d sunk on top of him.

Lexi lifted a hand and tucked her hair behind her ear, her gaze not quite steady on his but she sure tried hard for it to be.

“Tyler, I'm fine. Please go,”

He moved closer, drawn even though he knew he’d be better off to keep his distance. “Lily said you went to get some drugs. Did you get them? Mind if I take a look at them?”

Lexi began to panic immediately. Damn Lily and her big mouth. She remembered the home pregnancy test she'd bought and lifted her chin as she hugged her arms around her waist, closing herself off. There was no way she was going to let him see that. “You have no right to look at them,” she said, “I can take care of myself and I certainly don’t need you to —”

“—We’ll have to agree to disagree there,” Tyler interrupted. “Look, I know you’re mad at me and you hate me right now and you have every right to, but I'm worried about you. So is Lily and…” He paused, studying her. “Unless there’s something you’re not saying? Something else you’re upset about?”

Her focus automatically shifted to the logoed brown sack on the table. Bad move. Before she could even think of taking the few steps to reach it—hide it— Tyler had the pharmacy bag in his hand. He watched her closely as he reached inside.

“Tyler, it’s not what you’re thinking. It’s just—”

“Just what?” His jaw locked tight when he pulled the box free and saw what it was. His dark gaze hardened as his eyes met hers again. “What? You're pregnant?”

_________

Lexi fought the sensation of the walls closing in on her. Seconds passed that seemed like hours. The question left her literally shaking in her shoes. She didn’t know. Not for sure, because she was too afraid to take the stupid test.

How the hell did she end up in this situation? You didn’t use protection, remember? Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake. But there wasn’t supposed to have been a need for it!

Tyler's tall frame took up too much of the room, his demeanor not easygoing at all. His gaze was direct, never wavering from hers, and it was disconcerting.

“Lexi?”

Denial was instant. She automatically shook her head, her attention fastening on the navy, black and silver swirling pattern printed on Tyler's medium blue T-shirt. He’d looked wonderful in anything he wore and this casual, tanned version was definitely appealing. The silver in the shirt’s design gleamed at her, making her remember the silver-gilded mirror beside his bedroom door in Olkfield and the way she’d watched their image in it. Heat flooded her insides and she looked down only to find herself fascinated by the shredded holes in the legs of his loose-fitting jeans. He had bony knees, strong thighs. And a taut butt that looked great in wash-worn denim.

“Are you sure?”

She swallowed back a moan of unease when a knot formed in her belly. “I’m not pregnant.”

It was true. It had to be true. Being pregnant would mess up everything and make their situation worse.

“Have you taken a test?”